Opera chair



S. M. SAMTER AND C. L. COBB.

OPERA CHAIR. APPLICATION FILED AUGJB. 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

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specification of Letters Patent.

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Patented Apr, 4:,

Application filed. August 18, 1920. Serial No. 404,408.

This invention relates to chairs and moreparticularly to opera chairs, M

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improvedopera chair with relatively movable seat and frame parts to facilitateaccess to and egress from chairs in aisles or rows.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedopera chair involving a rigid, substantial and stationary leg framestructure and aseat, with a back, movable to and fro on the leg framebetween predetermined limits.

It is a further ob'ect of the invention tov provide means'forfacilitating this to and fro movement, as'occasion requires, on theframe structure, and further to provide an improved anti-frictionbearing between the seat and the frame structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel opera chair of fewand simple parts that are of an inexpensive character.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some ofwhich, with the foregoing, will be made manifest in the followingdescription of the preferred form of the invention which is illustratedin the drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification. Itis to be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention tothe embodiment shown by the said draw ings and description, asvariations may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forthin the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective of the improved chair withthe seatin its forward position.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the seat structure and betweenthe legs of the frame on line 22 of Fig, 3.

Figure 3 is a cross section through the leg frames and transverselyacross the seat to illustrate the bearings on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Figure l is a front elevation of a portion of a row of chairs.

In the preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a leg framestructure of substantially parallel frames rigidly connected togetherand suitably attached to a platform, floor, or other base, and whichframes are provided upon opposed faces with tracks or guides upon whichoperate anti-friction bearings carrying a seat that may be pro videdwith a back; the'tracks being of sufficient length to permit the chairseat tobe pulled forwardly into a normal position of use and whereby,upon occasion ofnecessity, the seat can be pushed rearwardly, thusgiving an added clearance. for persons passa ing between the fronts andbacks of rows of seats. A further featureof the invention is provislonfor the to and fro movement of the seat with facility, as by means ofarms rigidly connected to the frames and having guided relation tomembers extending from the back of the chair. a

A form. of the invention isshown as corn prising side frames of U-shapedformhaving downwardly extending front and rear legs 2 and 3 connectedbyatop-bridge portion t; the lower ends of the legs being provided, ifdesired,- with laterally extended foot portion 5' by which the framesmay be secured to the floor or platform. The front legs of a pairofframes are preferably free from any tansverse connection while the rearlegs are transversely connected by a suitable brace or braces 6, thusproviding for rigidity of leg frame structure. Superposed at a suitableheight above the leg frames are horizontally arranged arms 7-7, thefront ends of which are provided with braces S-8 extending upwardly fromthe tops of the leg frames.

Arranged between the bridge portions lof the leg frames is a seatstructure pref erably formed of one integral or continuous sheet ofmaterial, as metal, having a seat forming portion 10 having anappropriate ogee surface from the front to the rear, the

latter being provided with an upwardly extending back 11. The front edgeof the seat- 10 is provided with a downturned apron 12 that is cut awayat the corners, as at 13, to provide clearance openings for a purpose tobe explained.

The seat thus described is adapted to be bodily shifted from a frontposition, as shown in Fig. 1, rearwardly to a predetermined position;the chair seat being shown in Fig. 2 as pushed rearwardly to the backlimit of movement.

This to and fro movement of the seat is facilitated by enabling theoccupant of the chair to grasp the side arms 757 and through arm forcepush the chanrear- 1 V vardly or pull it forwardly while sittin on theseat. and grasping the arms 7-7.

.arms are shown as of tubular form to 'rechive and guide links pivotallyconnected at 16 to the back 11 of. the seat. I

The seat structure may be appropriately mounted upon the leg frames andin the present case this is accomplished by providing on the inner andopposed faces of the} ortions 4"ofthe frames, guideways or trajhavingmpper and lower rails 18 and 19, respectively, brought together atthe front ends at 20 and at the rear ends at 21. to; form closed slotsfor the right and left hand jrames, and extending transversely betwt n.'the. frames, and with their ends heagningwin the tracks are providedroller shafts or bars 22, arranged in parallelism, in bearings] belowthe chair bottom 10.- The their bottom is prevented from lateralshiftingmovement by having guided relation between the portions 4 of the legframes,

and: below the bottom ofthe chair seat these is provided a pair, ofparallel flanges or hearing portions 23, through which the roller rodsor shafts 22 pass; these flanges 123tbeingwclosely contiguous to theadjacent edges of. the track rails 18 and 19, and further tend toprevent lateral movement of V the chair seat. j a

frames, having on mutual sides close frames forming horizontal guidechannels open toward each other in vertical planes, and a seat structurehaving downwardly extending bearing flange members running close to theinner edgesof the said guide frames so that lateral movement oi the seatis prevented by enga ement of said flanges with the frames, the angescarrying trans: versely extending, parallel roller shafts, the ends ofwhich travel 1 in the guide-way formed by the. guide frames; the forwardand rearward movement of the seatstructure being limited b theabutmentof the rollers with the close ends of the guideway.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands. 1 1 1 SAMUEL M.SAMTER.

An opera chair comprising rigid side le CLARENCE L. cone.

